Don't Be Scared to Be Stylish

I’ve always loved clothing. I can remember my favorite outfits from elementary school. I struggled in middle school to love anything I wore because of my changing body, but in high school I started really just wearing what I wanted. I took risks and dressed differently than anyone I knew, but I was always forced to hold myself back to a certain extent because of my size. I’d go thrifting and vintage shopping and scour the stores for something that would fit me. Finally, in college... I kind of gave up and just started wearing clothes that had I had no connection with. Blah.

Eventually, I lost a ton of weight and “changed” my body to conform to what I thought would make me feel like ME... clothes that I loved that I could barely squeeze into, and I thought that happiness was genuine. But turns out... it wasn’t. Sure, I got praised for my “willpower” to workout 5-7x a week and clean meal prep daily without “cheating”. But as soon as I stopped, my whole world... what I perceived to be true happiness... crumbled.

Fast forward... 100lbs later, and I finally can wear what I want. Hugely due to the big wave of size inclusivity happening in fashion. But also... I stopped being scared. I realized I dress for ME and no one else. Most importantly, through a lot of life events and soul searching... I know that happiness has nothing to do with clothes or what anyone else thinks. Does dressing yourself in clothing you love help your confidence? Absolutely. But if you go to a store, and you don’t try on anything you love, or nothing fits... don’t let that ruin your day. You’re giving it too much power.
BIG lesson here: I didn’t need to conform to society’s thin ideal to be happy. I’m more confident in my style and body now then I was as a 10/12.

Do the work on the inside, take it one day at a time. But don’t for once think that you don’t deserve to dress the way YOU WANT TO just because you don’t fit into something. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻